Tibetan Monk on China's Death Row Still Alive - 2004-12-13

A Chinese prison official says a Tibetan monk who was sentenced to death two years ago has not been executed because of his good behavior in prison.

Tulku Tenzin Delek was condemned to death in 2002, but the sentence was suspended for two years. His stay of execution expired two weeks ago, but prison authorities confirmed Monday that no action has yet been taken.

A prison official in China's Sichuan province, where the monk has been held, told a reporter Tulku Tenzin Delek "behaved himself well in prison," and suggested the sentence might be revised to life imprisonment or some other penalty.

Tulku Tenzin Delek was sentenced to death for a bombing in 2002 that killed one person in Chengdu city, Sichuan's capital. A Tibetan codefendant, Lobsang Dhondup, was executed in 2003.

The U.S. Senate urged China last week to release the monk. Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, also has called on Beijing to reconsider the death sentence.